↑      The new Wilmington trash bins are SMART.

Smart waste management logistics is an upcoming subject and action area in Smart Cities. Smart trash bins that communicate with the waste management system are key comenents in the solution.

              by Holly Quinn    –    15 Jan. 2020

New SMART trash bins are landing in Wilmington this week

Smart sanitation is part of Wilmington’s Beautiful City Campaign.

Wilmington residents are getting a new high tech feature this week, as the new SMART trash bins arrive on curbs across the city nearly two months earlier than projected.

For the most part, nothing will change. As part of Wilmington’s Beautiful City Campaign, the SMART bins will simply replace the old City of Wilmington -issued bins — look for yours to be delivered to your door by Friday — and will be picked up weekly as per the pickup schedule.

But if you regularly have overflow in your trash bin (e.g: an extra trash bag on top of the bin), that’s something you’ll have to manage, because the 65-gallon bin is meant to be the maximum you can put out: Bags outside of the bin will be picked up, but are discouraged. The City will also not pick up trash in non-issued bins.

Part of the cap on garbage per residence is to encourage recycling. Wilmington has long had a citywide weekly recycling pickup program with bins issued to residents, though some don’t use it, resulting in more trash that includes recyclables.

But what, exactly makes a SMART bin smart?

The new bins are embedded with high-frequency GPS chips that collect data on each bin, such as the location, real-time collection tracking and even if a bin has been tipped over. The City’s Sanitation Division will use Cart Vision Software to keep track of the data, which the city plans to share on its website as a real-time map that residents can access.

In a press release, Public Works Commissioner Kelly Williams said that Cart Vision Software also allows for the Sanitation Department to manage work orders of all cans citywide and maintains real-time inventories of assigned assets. The City will also be able to locate any reported missing or stolen cans using GPS.

Residents may choose to keep their old bins to use as storage (or, even better, convert it into a compost bin), but they may no longer be used for trash pick-up. Eco Plastic Products of Delaware, a nonprofit recycling facility in Wilmington, will take some of the disposed old trash bins.

Smart sanitation of one of several “smart city” upgrades the Wilmington has committed to in the past few years, including LED streetlamps et Compstat.

View original article at technical.ly